This project is to create a little wind detector for me and my roommate. We always look at the weather forecast to decide what to wear tomorrow, but we cannot feel how big the wind is. This little device can help users have an overall understanding of how big the wind is so that they can prepare their outwear.
Since the sensor is a flex sensor, I want it to send the bending information to the LED light to inform users about the real-time windy situations outside. Then people can prepare what to wear outside when looking at the LED signal on the device. Less bending means there is less wind, and the light will be blue. More bending means more dramatic wind and the light will blink red.
I followed the tutorial to install the flex sensor and used a small LED light as the indicator in the beginning. It can show how the pressure changes with dimmer or brighter of the red light. However, I don't think it is obvious enough.
I already have a soldered Neopixel LED from the bootcamp. It can be a good indicator since I can easily change the color of the light and it should also be able to be turned on and off. And in this case, I want the LED turns blue if there is intense pressure applied on the sensor (indicating the big wind and it can be really cold). On the other hand, the LED should turn red if the pressure is small. There are many challenges. I coulnd't get the code right, and the circuit didn't work out well either. But luckily after help from out TAs I noticed that one of my indicators was wrong. Then things worked out perfectly.
So finally, I created this little wind detector. The LED can change color from red to blue suggesting the intensity of wind outside so my potential users don't need to open the window and feel themselves. The wind was not that stable so the light color is shaking a little bit.
I want to make it more intelligent, and I think it should also be connected to the phone so that people can set some customized ranges and get notifications for super crazy weather conditions. It can be connected to Twilio to be a conversational bot (like what we did for Programming for Online Prototype class).
Plus, there can be more form explorations for my wind detector too. It can be a small decoration at home, like a Christmas light or small bedside lamp.
My technical limitations definitely restrict my ability to make the project more creative. It has so much potential if I can connect more sensors to it ( a more active reaction such as alert alarm or vibrations, etc.). Also, after the real scenario testing, the light color might not be stable and I realized that a more dynamic color range needs to be added for an accurate forecast.